S. Harris & Co. was retained by Barton Partners to conduct inspections and assessments of the an analysis of the existing facade conditions of the National Products Building in comparison to the survey work conducted by S. Harris & Co. in October of 2004.  The focus of the assessment was to compare the current conditions of the glazed terra cotta tile with our previous study.  For reference, the tiled veneer was applied to the 19th century brick building in 1957-1958, and again in 1966.  The 1957-1958 re-facing included 113-121 N. 2nd Street, while the later application included the end units of the site, from 109-111 and 123-125 N. 2nd Street.

We began the survey with reviewing our October 2004 report to determine if the conditions had changed or worsened during the last two years.  From our investigations, we determined that the tiles have in fact deteriorated considerably, as tiles that did not present obvious problems earlier, are now demonstrating glaze degradation.  The inspection was performed by Melanie Kasper and Jessica Senker, of which Jessica was part of the team that conducted the 2004 inspection.

This degradation of the tile substrate can be attributed to a few things.  First, due to the heavy amount of demolition and construction surrounding the building, including the construction vehicles, there is a vibration factor that was not present in 2004.  Second, when the glaze deteriorates or opens small fissures, this allows water to permeate the terra cotta and created added pressure within the tile during freeze thaw cycles.

The tile repairs will be quite extensive due to the conditions reported, with having to complete some type of repair or replacement to more than half of the tiles on the facade.  If repairs are not made to the walls and the tiles to minimize infiltration, then we can assume that the other half of the tiles will require the same amount of extensive repair in the next 2-4 years.

Conditions Comparison:

Photo taken in October 2004	Photo taken in August 2006

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